Vaira 5771

The End of Each Maka:

After the maka of Dam (blood) had begun the chartumim of Mitzriam were able to duplicate it, so too with the maka of tzfardai'a. Yet, by the third maka, Kinim, the chartumim could not do it so they told Paro that it must be "yad Elokim" (God's hand) (see Rashi (8:15)).

There is a big problem, why was it not until the third maka that they said this? They should have said this the moment the moment that the blood turned back into water. The chartumim could not turn the blood back into water, otherwise they would have had water to drink. So why didn't they go to Paro and tell him that it must have been God who turned the blood back into water or Who got the frogs to leave?

To answer this question let me tell you a story. So as you all know, it snowed this past week in New York. Me being me, I managed to get my car stuck, not once but two times. After about a half hour each time my car was finally freed from the grasps of the horrid snow I was finally able to go home. My friend who was in the car with me, and my friend who helped me get the car out (the first time) both pointed out how clear the yad Hashem was that after thirty minutes of my car moving back and forth in the same place, it miraculously got out.

The second time I had spent several minutes on my hands and knees shoveling snow with my hand to try to get my car out. Two guys from yeshiva saw me and tried to help but it was not until two random strangers came that my car was able to get out of the spot.

So each time that my car gets out of the snow it is clear that it is a Hashem, but how about every other time I easily pull my car out of spot on a sunny nice not-snowy day? Why isn't that also clearly yad Hashem? The answer is that that too is in fact also yad Hashem but we just assume it is nature that each time it happens we do not even think about it.

This is exactly what happened in Mitzriam. When the maka started the chartumim had an idea to say that it might be Hashem so they needed to do magic to show that it could have not been Hashem, but once the maka ended and they could see nature running it's course again they did not need magic to get around the possibility of it all being Hashem.

If the chartumim would have recognized from the beginning that it was yad Hashem then they would never have let Paro keep the Jews through all of the plauges. (According to the Ramban, Hashem only hardened Paro's heart after the fifth maka. Before then it was all Paro's free will. Therefore, if the chartumim would have been convinced from the getgo that it was Hashem, Paro would never have gotten through five makot.) It was their free will that allowed them to constantly look for an excuse to say it was not Hashem. But if they would have open their eyes to the truth they would have seen how clear it was. It was only by the third maka when they had no other explanation that they finally could admit to the idea that it was Hashem.

If a person were to just recognize that every event is orchestrated by Hashem then not only will every amazing event that occurs be yad Hashem, but even every small thing in their day turn into a great kindess straight from Hashem.

Have a great Shabbat!

Shemot 5771

Seeing is believing:

The pasukim say (4:3-5) "And He said 'send it to the ground' and he sent it to the ground, and it was a snake and Moshe ran from it. And Hashem said to Moshe 'send your hand and grab it's tail.' He sent out his hand and he held it, and it was a stick in his hand. 'So that they will believe that Hashem, the God of your fathers, the God Avraham God of Yitzchak and God of Yaakov appeared to you.'

From seeing the stick turn into a snake and then switch back the Jews will believe. But there is a problem, the Mitzrim also have the ability to change sticks into snakes. So how can this act possibly prove that Moshe was sent by Hashem? The Jews can see the acts of Moshe and say that just as the Mitzrim can do magic, so can Moshe. This should not help prove Hashem's hand at all.

We learn from here a very valuable lesson. Two people can see the same thing while for one it could be so obvious that it was the hand of Hashem and for the other it could just be nature. When someone believes that there is a God in the world everything they see is different then a person who does not.

Every morning the sun rises. If one where to look at the sky at sunrise they would see a spectacular light show. A person can look at this and see the marvels of Hashem or just light reflecting at an angle to produce a horizon of orange and red. The only difference is that one person believes, while the other is oblivious to it all.

Rav Shach came back from a visit to the hospital with a large smile on his face. His talmidim ask him why he was so happy. He explained that for years he never understood the first mitzvah according to the Rambam. The Rambam holds that it is a mitzvah to believe that Hashem exists. Rav Shach could not understand why that would need to be a mitzvah, isn't it so clear? So his talmidim ask him what he had learned at the hospital. Rav Shach told them that he had been speaking to one of the best doctors in the country. Rav Shach admitted to the doctor that he was jealous that the doctor could look into the insides of a person and see the wonders of Hashem. Rav Shach told the doctor how much he would love to see the heart, lungs and other internal organs working perfectly in order to keep the person alive, and how much it would strengthen his emunah. The doctor stared at Rav Shach with a puzzled look. The doctor said to Rav Shach that he had no clue what he was talking about. "How does this prove Hashem's existence?! The perfection of the internal organs is not a work of God, it is a work of nature." Rav Shach told his talmidim that until he had met this doctor he could not believed that an intelligent person could possibly think that there is no God, now that Rav Shach knows that there exists a smart person who does not believe, he can now finally understand the Rambam.

When DNA was first discovered by man it was the work of two scientists, one a religious christian, the other an atheist. When the christian was interviewed he was asked if the discovery of DNA disproves God. The christian answered that not only does it not disprove God, rather it is so much more clear now of God's existence, how could nature perfectly construct something so detailed and so exact? When the atheist was asked the same question, he answered that it proves to him, without any reasonable doubt, that there is no god in the world.

After the ten makot were all over, and the Jews had left, there were still Mitzrim in the thousands that came to the Reed Sea to kill the Jews. How could this be? Had they not witnessed the miracles? Had they not seen everything that had transpired over the last year? How could it not be so clear to them that Hashem is protecting the Jews? The answer is quite simple, when you don't believe in a creator nothing can possibly convince you. Even if God Himself were to come for a visit to your house you would not believe He exists.

But someone who does believe does not have to go anywhere to prove His existence. Every breathe a person takes is from Hashem. Every piece of food a person eats is from Hashem. Everything single thing that happens to a person is from Hashem, all you need to do is look around.

Hashem was telling Moshe that the Jews would believe him after seeing the stick turn into a snake because they are believers the sons of believers. Therefore, any act performed by Moshe would have been enough of a proof for them.

Have a good shabbat!

Vayichi 5771

Living Happy:

The Or HaChiam on the first pasuk in our parsha (47:28) says that we know that Yaakov went through many challenges in his lifetime (for example in no particular order: Esav, Lavan, Dinah, Yosef, Rachel dying...) but when it came to Mitzriam the pasuk says "And Yaakov lived in Mitzriam 17 years." The Or HaChaim says "these were his years and not the ones before now, and right after the pasuk says "and the days of Yaakov's life..." to hint that these were the years that Yaakov had chiut and when it says "and the days of Yaakov" are talking about the 17 years, in those years is when he had life... We can also explain by what is said 'whoever's life is good at the end is as if his entire life was good... since Yaakov had these 17 years that were good, the rest of his life became years 'of life'."

Throughout our lives we will be tested. Some tests will be harder to pass than others, but if we remember that every single thing that happens to us is from Hashem we can be sure that it will all end well. Even though Yaakov's life was filled with tests and hardships at the end the whole thing was worth it. If not for all of the pain that he went through he would not have been truly able to appreciate the good he had. It would not have been the same experience had Yaakov just had a good life if he had not lost many things in the process.

In fact, after 22 years of mourning for his son Yosef he now finds out that Shimon is in prison and that some ruler in Mitzriam is trying to take away Binyamin too. Everything is falling around him and just as everything seems like it is about to get worse, everything gets better and he lives a happy life for the rest of his days.

It is just when things start to look the worse that is when we get the most out of the good. If life was easy we would not appreciate it as much, it is only through the hard times that we can truly be thankful for what we have.

Have an easy fast and a good Shabbat!

Vayigash 5771

Kriat Shema:

After 22 years Yaakov finally is reunited with his son, Yosef. At that moment the first thing that Yaakov does is say Kriat Shema, as quoted by Rashi (46:29) from the Midrash Aggadah.

It is a mitzvah deorita that every Jew must recite Kriat Shema twice a day, once at night and once during the day. In fact, the first mesechta in Shas, Brachot spends its first perek just discussing Kriat Shema (as well as parts of the second and third perek). What about Kriat Shema makes it so important?

Kriat Shema starts off our commitment to accepting the yoke of heaven. By stating "Shema Yisrael: Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad" we are saying that Hashem controls the world and everything that happens is from Him. This is the same thing we discussed last week with the brothers when they were trying to figure out why all of those bad things where happening to them. Well, from this week's parsha it is clear where the brothers learned their emunah from.

Yaakov, after 22 years of mourning for the death of his son, sees his long "dead" son standing before him. Yaakov now looks back at the the events that have led up to this moment and he can now see how every event was perfectly orchestrated to allow the Jews an honorable descent to galut. The midrash tells us that Yaakov was really supposed to be brought into galut in chains. It was only after Yaakov saw that the last 22 years were a set up to bring him and his children to mitzriam with honor. What seems bad at the time was all done to help Yaakov. By having Yosef go down first it made it possible to allow the Jews to live in Goshen, separate from all of the influences of the people of mitzriam. On top of that, Yehuda was able to go down first and set up Yeshivot to make sure that Judaism could last through the galut ahead.

It was only after seeing the big picture that allowed Yaakov to see how Hashem had planned it all out perfectly, and at the moment Yaakov had no other thought but to announce his emunah in Hashem.

Have a good shabbat!

Miketz/ Chanukah 5771

Middah Keneged Middah:

The pasuk says (42:28) "... and they were afraid man to his brother saying 'why is Hashem doing to us?'" Targum Yonatan ben Uziel translates "... what is Hashem doing to us, it is not something that we are chiav for." The Rashbam says the brothers were asking "what is the middah keneged middah here?..."

Every day, twice a day we all say "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad." What are we saying when we say these words? In our saying of Shema we are testifying that Hashem controls the world. Every single event that happens in the world is perfectly orchestrated by Hashem, believing this is emunah peshuto (basic belief).

The brothers knew this very well, so the first thing that came to their minds when something bad happened to them was that Hashem had decreed this to happen. Therefore, they had to figure out which sin they did that caused them to have this event happen to them. This is what a person should do every time something happens to him. When a person has this basic belief he has everything. Once you have emunah everything else just happens.

We are told that in the time of Purim Haman wanted to destroy all of the Jews, but in the time of Chanukah the Greeks did not want to destroy us they wanted to get us to stop learning Torah and doing mitzvot. But knowing the information does not mean very much if we do not know the background story. By Purim the gemara is clear about the reason(s) why the story happened. Since the Jews went to the party of Achashvairosh and enjoyed the pleasures there, Hashem punished them that there physical bodies should be tested. In the story of Chanukah the Jews began to accept Greek Culture and leave Judaism. Since they did that Hashem tested the Jews with a test of the faith in Him. The ones who fought in the war against the Greeks were only the ones who were willing to give their lives up for Hashem.

Rav Brevda quoted the following story from the Siddur Harokaiach (I apologize for using the same story from last year but it is worth the chazara.) The Greeks came to attack the Jews with about 80,000 soldiers. Their opponents, twelve Kohanim with no weapons. All twelve kohanim stood side to side ready to die for Hashem. The Greek soldiers took out their bows and arrows and shot at the Kohanim. As the arrows fly through the air angels came and turned all of the arrows back at the shooters. The Kohanim did not do anything at all, yet all of the soldiers died in the battle.

The entire story with the Greeks was above nature. Every single action that happened was based on the merit of the Jews. Rav Brevda explains in Al Hanisim "Timai'im B'Yad Tahorim, V'Rishaim B'Yad Tzadikim, V'Zaidim B'Yad Oskai Toratecha" (The ritually impure by the hands of the pure, the evil ones by the hands of the righteous, and the wicked by the Ones Who Learn Torah) to mean that each Jew killed a Greek according to his level of faith. A normal Jew killed a normal Greek, a Jew who went against the Greeks and tried to keep the mitzvot killed the Greeks who tried to prevent the Jews from doing mitzvot, and the most religious of the Jews killed the Greeks who established the decrees.

This just shows us how much the event had to do with out faith. This is why everything was dependent on the emunah of the Jewish fighters.

From these events it is clear how Hashem plans every event to the smallest details. When we live on the level that we truly believe this whenever something happens to us the first thing we will think is "why is Hashem doing to us?"

Good Shabbat and Happy Chanukah!